U.S. Small Business Optimism Rises to Near One-Year High

August 11th, as businesses accelerate hiring and inflation pressures ease, small business optimism in the United States rose to near the highest level in almost a year in July. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index rose by 2.4 points to 99.8, the highest level since August 2025.

Of the 10 component indexes that make up this index, 8 rose while 2 declined. The net percentage of U.S. small businesses planning to increase employment surged to the highest level since October 2022, and the proportion of small businesses planning capital outlays in the coming months reached the highest since the end of 2024.